The need to secure items of various types, shapes, and sizes in a container to prevent damage to such items during the shipping process constantly arises. For example, retail stores frequently ship goods in containers to other retail stores or customers, and individuals commonly ship gifts in containers to friends and relatives. Although manufacturers typically provide product specific packaging designed to snuggly fit around the product to prevent potential damage during shipping, such product specific packaging may be unavailable when the product is subsequently shipped to another recipient. In such cases, the item must be placed within a container that may be considerably larger than the item itself and the problem of securing such item to restrict movement within the container occurs.
When shipping items where product specific packaging is not available, there are a multitude of ways to prevent damage to such items caused by shifting or sliding within the container. A common practice to restrict the movement of an item in a container is to fill the space between the container and the item with newspapers or other cushioning materials, such as styrofoam or bubble wrap, to create a buffer or protection zone around the item. However, such practice requires the sender to maintain a supply of newspapers or other cushioning materials and may be fairly time consuming, depending on the size of the item and the container.
Various devices designed to secure an item in a container exist in the prior art. For example, Lee, U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,607 discloses a multitude of anchor tabs secured to the container wall wherein ties are secured to such anchor tabs and such ties are then wrapped around an item and either secured to the container wall by adhesive means or tied together by a knot. Wylenzek, U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,950 discloses tie down brackets mounted on the base of the container wherein straps are secured to such tie down brackets and such straps are passed over the top of the item and secured to an opposing tie down bracket. Biggs, U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,710 discloses a container with a slotted base wherein removable straps with fasteners are passed through any two slots on such base to strap the item to the base.
The devices for securing an item in a container currently available in the art provide for a system of straps to secure the item in the container but they do not provide an additional flexible barrier to assist in securing the item.